Sausage and onions are a classic pairing that sounds tailor-made for the grill. But the reality is usually onions that are both crunchy and charred and sausages that either dried out or — even worse — catch fire.
We wanted a foolproof method for grilling sausages and onions simultaneously that would produce nicely browned links with juicy interiors and tender, caramelized onions.
Microwaving the onions — with a little thyme, salt, and pepper — for just 4 minutes jump-started the cooking process and allowed them to finish cooking evenly and thoroughly on the grill.
We adapted a ballpark technique, first cooking the meat with the onions away from direct heat in a disposable pan and then finishing the sausages directly over the flames.
Keeping the onions cooking on their own in the pan for an extra 5 to 10 minutes allowed the liquid to evaporate and the onions to caramelize to a deep golden brown while the sausages finished up brown and crisp on the grill.
GRILLED SAUSAGES WITH ONIONS
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
2 large onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (13 by 9-inch) disposable aluminum roasting pan
2 pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage (8 to 12 links)
Chef’s Note: This recipe will work with any raw, uncooked sausage. Serve the sausages as is or in toasted rolls.
Nutrition information per serving: 611 calories; 480 calories from fat; 53 g fat (19 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 129 mg cholesterol; 1536 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 25 g protein.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.